Three Long Tales

Seems I’ve gotten myself into several long series of books all by the same author. It started one day when I was just looking for something interesting and the book cover and back cover description made me pick up Orson Scott Card‘s Seventh Son.

It’s the first of The Tales of Alvin Maker series, which I’m several books into. It’s set in an alternate history of early America and centers around the life of a boy/man who will make a difference in the outcome of that continent.

Then I became aware of the Homecoming Saga, so picked up the first book in that series: The Memory of Earth. This series is about humans escaping the savage past of Earth, with some guiding assistance, now having to guide themselves when that experiment is breaking down. Interesting in that some of the characters and main plot points are borrowed from the Book of Mormon. Not so much that it’s worn on its sleeve.

And now I’ve added the first book from his best known series, and one that’s won some awards. The Ender’s Game series I haven’t yet started, only just now getting the first book. It was not written and released in chronological order, and apparently fans are torn over in which order they should be read.

4 down, 16 to go…

  1. Seventh Son
  2. Red Prophet
  3. Prentice Alvin
  4. Alvin Journeyman
  5. Heartfire
  6. The Crystal City
  7. Master Alvin (forthcoming)
  1. The Memory of Earth
  2. The Call of Earth
  3. The Ships of Earth
  4. Earthfall
  5. Earthborn
  1. Ender’s Game
  2. Speaker for the Dead
  3. Xenocide
  4. Children of the Mind
  5. Ender’s Shadow
  6. Shadow of the Hegemon
  7. Shadow Puppets
  8. Shadow of the Giant

[Edit: I’m crossing them off as I go, italicizing as I procure. -Aug 08]

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Chron: True Colors

On Monday the Chronicle stated in their editorial that: Finally, former CBS News anchor Dan Rather, who got his start in Houston, wrote a sad footnote to his mostly distinguished career when he sued his old employers for $70 million. The suit alleges that CBS made Rather a scapegoat for an inaccurate story about George … Read more

Digital Rights Management Screws

There is a great pool on flickr called “DRM is like…” Digital Rights Management. It’s only on legally purchased music and keeps you from doing things that are legal to do with purchased music. It’s what makes “squirted” music on Zunes only play three times. It’s what makes NBC’s new “free video service” (with commercials) … Read more

Our Dirty Little Secret – Blackwater

The US Military can’t patrol their own camps, they pay others to do it. Oh, they can patrol the camps, but they don’t have enough people to do all the jobs that need doing in Iraq, so they hire “private contractors”. Basically, mercenaries. But the State Department hires as many as 8 times more (from … Read more

NBC Announces Closed Video Podcasting

In something so boneheaded it’s bound to fail, NBC (who previously withdrew video content from iTunes) will now be providing proprietary DRM’d video downloads of their programming that expire after a week. And it only works on Windows. “With the creation of this new service, we are acknowledging that now, more than ever, viewers want … Read more

Lone Star’s National Anthem of Texas

Lone Star GuitarA lot of great songs on their list.   A few I could do without.  You can chase the link on the guitar and vote on the National Anthem of Texas (as anointed by Lone Star beer).

Boogie Back to Texas — Asleep at the Wheel
Miles and Miles of Texas — Asleep at the Wheel
Colors Are All the Same — Bill Pekar
San Antonio Rose — Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys
I’ve Been Everywhere (In Texas) — Brian Burns
Llano Estacado — Cooder Graw
Texas Time Travelin’ — Cory Morrow
That’s What I Like About Texas — Dale Watson
Way Down Texas Way — Dale Watson
Lone Star Blues — Delbert McClinton
Rolling Stone from Texas — Don Walser
Beautiful Texas Sunshine — Doug Sahm
Texas Me — Doug Sahm
Yellow Rose of Texas — Ernest Tubb
Waltz Across Texas — Ernest Tubb
Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio — Flaco Jimenez
London Homesick Blues — Gary P. Nunn
What I Like About Texas — Gary P. Nunn
I’m a Texan — Gary Stewart
Deep In the Heart of Texas — Gene Autry

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